A new research study suggests the rate of young men contacting Ontario's mental-health helpline for gambling-related problems has increased by more than 300 per cent since the province allowed private online gambling.
The study published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal today looked at ConnexOntario, the province's free 24-hour mental-health and addictions helpline.
Researchers tracked the volume of contacts to the helpline for gambling-related concerns from January 2012 to September of '25.
It noted there was a big increase in outreach between the time before January 2015, when the Ontario government launched the gambling platform Play OLG, and the period following the province's expansion of private online gambling in April 2022.
It found that among boys and men aged 15 to 24, the mean monthly rate of gambling-related contacts to the helpline per million people rose by 317 per cent during that time.
The rate increased about 108 per cent for men aged 25 to 44.
Dr. Daniel Myran, a research chair at North York General Hospital who co-authored the study, says the findings could mean more people are gambling in harmful patterns.
He says the findings underscore why gambling disorders need to be treated as a public health issue and treatment should be readily available.